1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a fastener assembly that permits the mounting of panels in the cargo bay of aircraft and, more particularly, a two-part fastener assembly that can be quickly mounted and demounted to release the panel.
2. Description of Related Art
The interior walls of cargo planes, for example, as used by the military, can be subject to wear, such as abrasions and scrapes, that can occur as the maximum amount of cargo is attempted to be loaded into the bay of the cargo hold. The cargo plane walls are typically formed of approximately 0.06 inch thick composite surface panels. There has been a desire to use sheets of a protective plastic having various thickness ranges, for example, 0.04 inches in thickness, which should be easily mounted and demounted from the spars and stringers of the cargo bay. The conventional approach to this installation, has been the use of titanium bolts that extend through both a protective cover panel and the interior wall panel of the cargo bay. A clip nut is mounted in appropriate spars and stringers to enable the bolt to be threaded into the nut assembly.
Since in large planes as many as 20,000 fastener assemblies are utilized to hold the panels/liners, a substantial issue of labor in installation and removal of the panels is created. As can be appreciated, a plane can be subject to vibrations and the protective panels and its fasteners should be securely fastened. Balanced against this operational requirement is the desirability to reduce the labor time in both installing and demounting of the panels.
The prior art is still seeking an optimum solution to these opposing requirements.